Schools are places of learning but are they learning organisations?

Martin Byrne, Assistant Headteacher (T&L; CPD), Kings International College, Camberley, UK In England, continuing professional development (CPD) is recognised as critical to improving teachers’ practice (DfE, 2013). The most recent Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) revealed England to be one of only 15 out of a total 35 OECD nations where CPD participation is compulsory for teachers to maintain employment (OECD, 2019) – a strategy supported since the introduction of dedicated in-service training days in 1988. At the end of the 20th century, CPD ‘for the majority of English secondary school teachers consisted of little more than raising awareness of issues’ (Stoll et al., 2006, p. 221). Dylan Wiliam (2010) later observed a stasis in the prevalent model of CPD, and argued for a change in schools’ approaches to teacher development. His views echoed findings in the TALIS report, which identified a ‘growing interest in developing schools as learning orga